Lucy's Freekah Salad With Crunchy Veg, Roasted Almonds and Herbs

Food

The New Year is upon us, I’m back at work… and I’m on a health kick. BIG time.

Pre-parenthood (and pre-Uber eats!) I would plan meals every weekend, do a big Saturday shop at my favourite greengrocer, and cook something healthy and yummy every weeknight – with leftovers for lunch the next day. What happened?

2019 is the year I plan to resurrect my healthy eating, and that means getting re-inspired to cook creatively with fresh ingredients, and filling my plate with COLOUR again! I’ve created four fabulously filling and more-ish salads to get me started… who’s with me!?

8th January, 2019

Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Lucy Feagins

Tuesday 8th January 2019

If I’m going to eat a salad for dinner, it’s gotta be robust enough to really fill me up, AND I especially love a salad that keeps well, and makes a delicious lunch the following day. This fresh and crunchy Freekah salad totally hits the mark!

I love the nuttiness of Freekah, however it’s not gluten free – for a gluten free option, try substituting quinoa, but be aware you may need to reduce the amount of dressing you add, as Freekah soaks up quite a lot of the dressing.

The colour and crunch of radishes and snow peas make this dish so vibrant, but really any crunchy raw veg can be added to this salad. Try fennel, sugar snap peas, even blanched frozen peas would be a great addition!

This makes a great side dish for fish, chicken or BBQ’d meat, and keeps well for about 3 days in the fridge.

Salad Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cup whole grain freekah (substitute red quinoa for gluten free)
4-6 small radishes
1 handful of snow peas
1 handful of flat leaf parsley
1 handful of dill
1 cup roasted almonds
2 tablespoons currants

For the dressing

30ml pomegranate molasses (available from Middle Eastern supermarkets)
70ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 generous pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the currants in a small bowl and cover with just-boiled water for about 20 minutes, to plump them up a bit and make them juicy.

Cook the freekah according to packet instructions – this can vary substantially, but usually means covering 1 cup of freekah with 2 cups of water in a small saucepan, bringing to the boil then turning down and simmering for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, if the water dissolves too fast you may have to add more water. When cooked, the water will have dissolved completely and the freekah will still be a little nutty. (Don’t let it catch on the bottom of the pan!)

When the freekah is cooked, turn it out onto roasting pan or into a large mixing bowl, and spread out to allow the grains to dry out a bit and cool down completely.

Whilst the freekah is cooking, prep all your raw ingredients – slice snow peas longways, slice radishes into thin discs (use a mandolin if you have one), wash and roughly chop all herbs, and drain the currants.

Combine all dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk.

Combine all ingredients in a big mixing bowl and add your dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.